Doing a spark plug change on a X6 this morning and I found that mice had chewed through the insulation on the engine harness. Very glad it hasn't corroded, shorted or thrown a code. Now I need a recommendations on those ultrasonic boxes you throw under the hood to keep these pests out.
Anybody have experience with ones that will last?
In reply to MINIzguy :
I'm almost an animal rights type but when it comes to legitimately protecting my multi-thousand dollar investment, I'd look for something more concrete and permanent. Like death.
A small coolant leak, capsaicin tape under the car, mint or peppermint oil, a pet cat, cornmeal and concrete mix.
Irish spring soap
Of all the "humane" methods I've tried, none worked.
Bounty dryer sheets... made their poop white and smelled like fresh linen
Bay Leaves... gave them something nice to chew on
Irish Spring... seemed to actually attract them and they ate it all. Same goes for scented candles.
Peppermint oil... just helped to cover the smell of mouse urine
Ultrasonic.... in my camper, the trail of mouse poop went along the back edge of the counter, then made about a 3-inch radius circle around the ultrasonic thing. At best, it made them take three more steps and improve their cardiovascular health.
I'm someone who won't kill anything unless there is a reason, so I've tried all the repellents and "humane" things with zero success. The most humane way is blunt force trauma to the head, so until someone builds a better one of these:
Used them at my grandparents house, only function was wasting money.
Kill, kill, kill
Car inside or out?
Just in the engine bay as far as I know. May wrap wires in the capsaicin tape then as I can see that's what Honda does, and their Ridgeline is unscathed.
BTW I hate working on this N55 motor. So much junk and brittle plastic in the way.
Dude, people say it's impossible, but I can hear those ultrasonic thingies. The deer and the mice. The ones for deer was particularly piercing.
Bad news, sort of. I work at an Acura dealer and recently we had a customers vehicle in because mice chewed through the mouse tape to chew on the knock sensor harness.
Maybe the mouse tape needs to be fresh?
I keep 3 of them in our travel trailer year-round (it's plugged in to shore power) and scatter mothballs underneath it in the winter. No critters have gained entry yet. Well, other than ants....
_ said:Dude, people say it's impossible, but I can hear those ultrasonic thingies. The deer and the mice. The ones for deer was particularly piercing.
I hear them too.
I also see the order in which your three tail lights turn on.
I do not, however, see dead people.
In reply to SkinnyG :
Yeah what's the deal with that? I too can see the tail light sequence. Now, granted, I've not scientifically or medically looked this up, and the people telling me "that's impossible" are average joes. But...
noddaz said:Bad news, sort of. I work at an Acura dealer and recently we had a customers vehicle in because mice chewed through the mouse tape to chew on the knock sensor harness.
Maybe the mouse tape needs to be fresh?
Just put it back together and band-aided the wires with some liquid electrical tape. Gotta decide if I want to buy a harness, and which repellent method I want to use. Also sheared off a wheel lock key because some gorilla at Firestone decided to put 300 ft lbs on the lug bolts. That's gonna be a fun call trying to make them admit that. Not a good day wrenching.
In reply to MINIzguy :
Also sheared off a wheel lock key because some gorilla at Firestone decided to put 300 ft lbs on the lug bolts.
I know this is after the fact. And I don't flip through a bunch of cars, but the first thing I do with a new purchase is take off the wheel locks.
noddaz said:In reply to MINIzguy :
Also sheared off a wheel lock key because some gorilla at Firestone decided to put 300 ft lbs on the lug bolts.
I know this is after the fact. And I don't flip through a bunch of cars, but the first thing I do with a new purchase is take off the wheel locks.
Yea, something to learn this time. This is my parent's car that I was supposed to do basic maintenance on that turned into a $300 parts order. I'll probably take the locks off my truck so this doesn't happen anymore.
In for actual successful results. Everything beyond a certain radius from the house I have to leave the hoods open so mice don't take up residence in the engine bay. Makes the place look even more like a junkyard than it already does. If only the mice could be deterred by visual blight the way neighbors can...
Ordered a new engine harness and the capsaicin tape. Will be taping the wires before I put the new harness in.
Still considering one of the repellers too. Found some that flash light and make noise, with a 12V protect. This is a daily driven car so I'm surprised that this happened.
SkinnyG said:_ said:Dude, people say it's impossible, but I can hear those ultrasonic thingies. The deer and the mice. The ones for deer was particularly piercing.
I hear them too.
I also see the order in which your three tail lights turn on.
I do not, however, see dead people.
LED christmas lights.
They flicker and I can see it, I don't care what anyone says.
Bought some Loraffe branded ultrasonic repellers off Amazon today. They flash lights too. I'll see how reliable this is.
I wonder if spraying the harness with sriracha sauce would help?
Useless side note, I did not know how to spell "sriracha" and spell check helpfully suggested "scirocco".
There are probably a fair number of mk1/mk2 Golf upgrades that would qualify as 'scirocco sauce'.
_ said:Dude, people say it's impossible, but I can hear those ultrasonic thingies. The deer and the mice. The ones for deer was particularly piercing.
same here. They drove me insane
Vigo said:In for actual successful results. Everything beyond a certain radius from the house I have to leave the hoods open so mice don't take up residence in the engine bay. Makes the place look even more like a junkyard than it already does. If only the mice could be deterred by visual blight the way neighbors can...
Certainly not the answer for everyone but I have a side-by-side comparison between having a cat and not having a cat. As long as she was alive, you never even saw a hint of a rodent. No chipmunks, no squirrels, no mice, nothing. Or if you ever saw one, it's was reduced to a lump of fur and bones.
The week after she left us for kitty-heaven... everything changed.
I used to have a prolific hunter cat. I even once found a dead rabbit inside one of my cars that I'd left the window down a little too far on because she drug it in there. Unfortunately that feline masterpiece has left me and the ones I've got left seem too lazy to hunt. But the other side is that there are both stray dogs and coyotes in the area, so the whole 'radius from the house' thing is working against me. The cat zone ends where the coyote zone begins.
Well, engine harness taped up and installed. Showed a buddy who is a Honda tech and he also corroborated that he thinks mice like the taste, haha. The Loraffe ultrasonic repellers have LEDs that also flash. I'm putting it right by the radiator support flashing towards the engine/open space so I hope rodents see it and don't go near. I guess I'll report back in 1-2 months and see results after the parents have had the car back for a bit.
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